Review of Deca-Dence

Story: Deca-Dence takes a similar setting to a combination of Log Horizon and Attack on Titan. Firstly, imagine all the players and NPCs of Log Horizon living in the enclosed walls of Attack on Titan where the titans outside are instead monsters. Secondly, unlike Log Horizon where players are powerful individuals, in this scenario it's the NPCs that are powerful. Thirdly, unlike Attack on Titan where it seems that humans are standing on thin ice for their survival, this anime portrays the powerful NPCs as capable of going against the monsters outside the wall, while the players are trying their best to survive. Now imaginethat among the players and the NPCs have anomalies such as abnormal personalities or defects etc. These anamolies causes complications within the society of NPCs and players and this complication arises from an unknown source. This becomes clear when compared to the monsters - which should be the anamoly - are not addressed.

If the above analogy was not clear, another alternative analogy would to be think about this like the Matrix. And, just like the Matrix (the second one), they make a huge theme about anamolies in the system (i.e. Neo, the main character). Following this analogy, the story basically talks about the relation between players, NPCs and their anamolies.

Character: Characters in the anime are very straight forward. This is even more so when looking into the two main characters. The main heroine is direct about her dreams and ambitions. In constrast, the main character is cynical and has lost his drive for living. Therefore, the two characters become an interesting dynamic duo where they influence each other with their conflicting personalities. Their interactions also influence other characters, in particular a specific set of characters.

Art & Sound: The art of the anime is fitting for their surroundings, however the distinct differences between the two races (continuing from our analogy), players and NPCs, is a little cartoonish. The Opening fits the childish nature of the art.

Overall: If you've read my score, and you have gone through this review, you can see why my rating is low. The reason why I did not go lower is because the particular tropes they used at first was interesting at first, but execution of said tropes was handled poorly. This is evident in the story section, where I have explained the premise of the story with two different analogies, but the catch is I didn't need to watch all 12 episodes to describe the story (I only needed 2!). Hence, the story quite predictable based on the first 2 episodes. Furthermore, the opening and ending share a light-hearted tone that conflicts with the more serious themes of the anime, however it does compliment the cartoonish nature of the characters.

In conclusion, the anime had potential but it dropped off very quickly, and the inconsistency between the serious theme of the plot, opposed to the style of the animation, opening, ending and art does not mesh well together. Moreover, (bit of a spoiler!), the main focus of theme about anamolies is counter-intuitive when you compare it to the way the NPCs live. If you want to know more, you might want to watch the whole anime, but this particular point is what made me rate this anime as mediocre.